4th gen wheel question

[Steffeazy]

The car's needing new tires which makes this a perfect opportunity to go with new wheels. I have a feeling that I will be upgrading the brakes sooner or later, so I might as well buy 17" wheels now.

Just looking for input from everyone's experience on what the best route is to take. The way I see it, I essentially have 3 options.

1. OE Z06 wheels: I love the look of the Z06 wheels, but I'm not too excited about having to buy a staggered set and look for another pair of front wheels.

2. OE SS Wheels: Easiest and least expensive to find. Not a true 9.5" wide wheel, but does that really matter?

3. Aftermarket wheels: Economical and easy to procure (for obvious reasons). I'm sure they don't have the same quality as OE wheels, but can they be used in racing. Does anyone have any experience with these wheels surviving the racetrack (including agricultural racing)?

I'm leaning to the OE SS wheels now. I think I'd feel better with an OE wheel, but I'd like a spare set to put track only tires on and I'm not sure what direction to take.

Thanks for the help.

[Pranav]

The car's needing new tires which makes this a perfect opportunity to go with new wheels. I have a feeling that I will be upgrading the brakes sooner or later, so I might as well buy 17" wheels now.

Just looking for input from everyone's experience on what the best route is to take. The way I see it, I essentially have 3 options.

1. OE Z06 wheels: I love the look of the Z06 wheels, but I'm not too excited about having to buy a staggered set and look for another pair of front wheels.

2. OE SS Wheels: Easiest and least expensive to find. Not a true 9.5" wide wheel, but does that really matter?

3. Aftermarket wheels: Economical and easy to procure (for obvious reasons). I'm sure they don't have the same quality as OE wheels, but can they be used in racing. Does anyone have any experience with these wheels surviving the racetrack (including agricultural racing)?

I'm leaning to the OE SS wheels now. I think I'd feel better with an OE wheel, but I'd like a spare set to put track only tires on and I'm not sure what direction to take.

Thanks for the help.

The only things you're going to find for the f-body that's worthwhile are 1 and 2.

I agree #2 is a hassle, but I've been able to procure one set so far and will plan to eventually procure a 2nd set by the end of the year. Whether the weight differential and the extra half inch is worth it, is up to you. I've run with 3 sets of 17*9 SS wheels for three seasons now and have no reason to believe that they've held me back in anyway, but I'm taking the opportunity to swap each set out for Z06 wheels as they pop up on the market locally while I burn off tires on the SS wheels.

That being said I should have a set of 17*9 SS wheels for sale by the TWS event in mid october if you're interested. Asking $300. At worst you can "retire" them for rain tire use in the future if you end up building up a collection of z06 wheels like I am at the moment.

[BryanL]

Need to clarify there is a difference between OE Wheels and OEM. I don't recommend the OE wheels-they are heavier and I don't know if they are as strong as the factory original OEM wheels. Get a set of used OEM 17" wheel whether the 10 Spoke SS or the 5 spoke ZR1 style. You can find sets of 17.5x9 Z06 wheels but they are going to be about double the cost. They aren't going to make much of a difference other than looks for you.

[Pranav]

Need to clarify there is a difference between OE Wheels and OEM. I don't recommend the OE wheels-they are heavier and I don't know if they are as strong as the factory original OEM wheels. Get a set of used OEM 17" wheel whether the 10 Spoke SS or the 5 spoke ZR1 style. You can find sets of 17.5x9 Z06 wheels but they are going to be about double the cost. They aren't going to make much of a difference other than looks for you.

Yeah to echo what Brian said, avoid the "OE wheels" or other aftermarket re-po wheels if you can. Half the time the sellers don't know what they have so as them to look for the GM stamp on the front/back.

[Steffeazy]

I guess I knew the answer all along. I'll just keep my eye out for some OEM wheels.

That being said I should have a set of 17*9 SS wheels for sale by the TWS event in mid october if you're interested. Asking $300. At worst you can "retire" them for rain tire use in the future if you end up building up a collection of z06 wheels like I am at the moment.

Definitely interested. Let me know if you decide to sell them.

[Steffeazy]

Well... A set of Z06 wheels popped up on Craigslist with nearly new tires. I figured this is the best set up for me now since I am still daily driving the Z.

I'm still interested/ looking for SS wheels to put track tires on. I like the idea of running the same rubber as you guys for track days.

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[Supercharged111]

I've got a pic at home showing the difference between RA1s on SS wheels and RRs on Z06 wheels. The difference was surprising. I chalked it up to tires per someone's input on here, but I later found an RA1 on a Z06 wheel and could see no difference between that and the RR. Can't say if it's worth a hill of beans from a handling perspective, but the difference was there.

[Fair]

Why are used OEM wheels and cheap knock-offs of the same styles the only options in AI and CMC racing? Aluminum wheels are a wear item, and after a certain number of cycles, seasons, or curb hit they have to be retired.



There are better options that don't weigh 29 pounds like the knock-off OEM wheels...

[dtanker65]

What do you have for the S197 Terry? I need to retire some OEM wheels and I am trying to figure the best wheel choice moving forward for extreme use. Enkei seems to be the preferred wheel for amateur racing. $125 to true a bent wheel is a factor in my planning and has me considering investing in forged wheels.

[drecords]

Here's the 2016 Rules on wheels. 7.31 Wheels/Tires
7.31.1 Wheels may be of any construction or material,must be 16 or 17 inch diameter, and must not be
wider than 9.5 inches.
7.31.2 16 inch wheels must weigh 16.0lbs or more. 17 inch wheels must weigh 18.0lbs or more. One piece
aluminum spacers welded to the wheel will be included in the total wheel weight. Detachable balancing
weights will not be included in the total wheel weight..
7.31.3 Maximum tire size is 275/40R17 for all cars. The Toyo Proxes RR and Toyo Proxes RA1 are the
only tires allowed.
7.31.4 Wheel spacers are allowed and wheels may have any offset.

I think most now run 17's, curious what you have in that weight range?

For reference I've currently got 3 sets of MB Competition wheels (look like SSR Competition knock offs) that are over the minimum weight at 21lbs but have been strong and easy on the wallet.